The Mirror of Erised
by Kandell
Summary: AU .:PLEASE REVIEW:. Hermione never knew about magic, but when her boarding school is burned down, she transfers to Hogwarts. Full summary inside. From the author formerly known as zutarataang4eva.
1. Chapter 1

The Mirror of Erised

AU ((it's set at Hogwarts, but Hermoine's never been there before)): Hermoine Granger's school has just burned down, and she has been transferred to a new boarding school. When she gets there, she makes friends with Harry Potter and Ron Weasley, and makes enemies with Draco Malfoy. So what would happen when you mix enemies, friends, frienemies, and a magical mirror?...

I struggled my way through the train station, dragging a trunk, two duffle bags, a messenger bag, and a purse. Dodging people and trolleys, I weaved my way across the platform and checked my ticket.

"Platform nine…and three quarters? But…Excuse me," I flagged down a station manager, "Can you tell me where I can find platform nine and three quarters?"

"Nine and three quarters? No games, Miss, I don't have the time," the station manager waved me off and continued on his way.

I huffed, threw my purse over my shoulder, and continued through the station. I approached a group of redheaded people and a boy with dark hair. The mother of the redheads was loud, but sounded very warm.

"Excuse me!" I called, running toward them, dragging my things behind me. "Excuse me."

"Yes, can we help you?" the loud woman asked.

"Well, I'm trying to find my way to platform…nine and three quarters." I said the last part quietly, and in a higher pitch than the rest of my sentence.

"Oh! You look a bit old to be a first year," she took a step back and looked me over.

"First year? Oh, you mean freshman? No, I'm a transfer student."

"I didn't know you could transfer to Hogwarts," the dark-haired boy said.

"So, um…where's the platform?" I readjusted my luggage as the woman piped up.

"Ah, yes, you see that column?" I nodded. "Just straight through it."

I had started to walk toward the column, thinking that the platform was just beyond it, but froze when I heard her last statement.

"Excuse me? _Through_ the column? It's made of brick," I gestured at the structure. The entire group looked at me like I had asparagus sprouting out of my ears.

"They must've had some other sort of transportation at your old school," the loud woman said, shaking her head. She gently grabbed my arm and positioned me behind two redheads that looked exactly the same. Twins I assumed. They looked back at me, looked at each other, winked, and ran full tilt at the column…and then they were gone!

"How did they…where did they…?" my questioning was stopped with a firm push to my lower back, sending me forward and through the column.

When I emerged on the other side, I found myself on a hot, crowded platform. Before me were bustling people; parents saying good bye, children squirming out of their mothers' grasp, and station managers loading luggage onto the black and red train. My mouth opened in awe as I looked around at what I had just discovered.

"This is the trippiest train station ever," I muttered. I heard the clatter of a trolley behind me, and turned to see the dark-haired boy. "This is amazing!" I waved my hand at the platform.

"Well…yeah, I guess." His tone suggested that this sort of thing was everyday practice for him. A station manager came by, grabbed our luggage, and loaded it onto the train. "We better get on, or all the good cabins'll be taken," the boy said, more to the redheads that had just come through the entrance.

I boarded the train, separately from the group of redheads that swarmed around the dark-haired boy. I didn't want them to feel awkward just because they'd shown me the way to the platform. I wandered down the train, looking for an open cabin or one that had people that looked like they'd be willing to share with a stranger. No luck in the first car. Finally, in the third car, I found an empty cabin. I put my messenger bag and purse onto the luggage rack and sat down near the window. After a few minutes, the train made a big creaking sound and lurched forward, at a snail's pace. It began to gain speed, though, and after a few minutes the train was rocking back and forth. I had a feeling that it was going to be a great year, but my thoughts were interrupted when the cabin door was roughly thrown open. I jumped slightly at the clang, and looked up to see who the intruders were.

The first was a tall, blond boy, probably around my own age of seventeen. He had a muscular build, with perfect, porcelain skin, piercing gray eyes, and thin, pink lips. For a moment I felt like I was lost in some sort of fantasy, looking at the god Eros. But my thoughts were broken when he was followed by three others. There were two massive, dumb-looking oafs and a tall, lanky girl with black, shoulder-length hair.

"Um, can I help you?" My voice was quiet, but seeing as I was the new kid, I didn't want to attract too much attention to myself.

"Who're you?" The blond boy demanded. His expression suggested that he hadn't noticed me before I spoke up, but I was used to it. I was short, about 5'4", thin, with curly brown hair that fell to the middle of my shoulder blades, and brown eyes. Nothing really outstanding about me.

"I'm Hermoine," I muttered.

"Yeah, and where're you from?" He flopped down on the seat across from me as his posse filed in and sat.

"I'm from Liverpool."

"You don't look familiar," the girl spoke up as she wrapped herself around the blond's muscular bicep.

"I'm a transfer student."

"Oh, from where?"

"Saint Magnifique. It's an…well, it _was_ an all-girls school. It burned down a month ago." I crossed my legs and scratched my nails over my jeans, directing my gaze to my _very_ interesting ballet flats. Well, okay, they weren't that interesting, but I don't have a good history of looking at attractive guys and not blushing.

"Saint Magnifique? I've never even heard of that. Where is it?" The blond's eyebrows furrowed.

"Oh, it's in France. Calais, to be precise."

"I wasn't aware that there were any schools other than Beauxbatons in France." The girl readjusted herself to be more comfortable against the blond. "Draco, darling, do you think they've finally done something about the food this year? It's always so overcooked."

So the blond's name was Draco. A rather unusual name, but then again, so was Hermoine. Thanks for loving Shakespeare so much, Mom and Dad. "Um, if you would rather I leave, I can always do that."

"Why would you need to leave?" Draco asked.

"Well, you're all…well, you're friends, and I don't want to intrude. I mean, you probably haven't seen each other in a while, so you probably have a lot to discuss…" As I spoke, I made my way toward the door to the cabin. I grabbed my bags off of the luggage rack and exited the cabin quickly. Something about Draco's friends made me uncomfortable. I traveled down the hall until I got to the end of the train car, where I found the dark-haired boy sitting with one of the redheads. I knocked on the door before opening it.

"Um, do you mind if I join you?" I asked, attempting a friendly I'm-not-stalking-you-or-anything smile.

"Uh, yeah, go ahead," the dark-haired boy said. I entered the cabin and put my bags on the luggage rack and took a seat next the door, on the same side as the redhead. "I'm Harry Potter," the dark-haired boy began, "and that's Ron," he gestured at the boy I was sitting next to.

"Ron Weasley," the redhead corrected, not offering a hand to shake and barely looking at me.

"I'm Hermoine."

"Nice to meet you," Harry said, nodding at me. "So where are you transferring from?"

Great. I got to go through this again. "Saint Magnifique, in Calais."

"I thought the only school in France was Beauxbatons." Harry shrugged.

"Does everyone here think poorly of the French education system?" I had to admit, I was surprised by the France bashing.

"Well, no, it's just that. Well, Hogwarts is the only school in Great Britain," Ron shrugged this time.

"What are you talking about? I passed three schools on the way from my hotel to the train station."

There was a moment of silence. Then "Do you know what kind of school Hogwarts is?"

"Well I assume it's a boarding school, just like all the other ones I've been enrolled in. After Saint Magnifique burned down, I got a letter saying that I'd been accepted to this school."

Harry and Ron looked at me, then each other, then back at me. "This is a wizard school."

I started laughing. "Oh wow, you guys. Nice one, nice one. Okay, so word got around that there was a new kid and you all said, 'Hey, let's Punk her!'? You must not get a lot of transfers." I crossed my arms and leaned back in my seat. The boys looked at each other, shrugged, and leaned back as well. The rest of the ride was spent in relative silence, save the occasional joke, call for the trolley, or comment on sports. What the flip is Quidditch? About halfway through the ride, the boys left and returned wearing strange robes with red and gold coat-of-arms.

The train groaned to a halt, and I gathered my things. I left the train, followed by Harry and Ron, and made my way off of the train. Stepping onto the platform, I saw scores of children wearing similar robes, the colors ranging from red and gold to gold and black to blue and silver and finally green silver. Was there a uniform I was supposed to get? I assumed that I'd get one at orientation. I saw a figure looming over the children in the distance, and realized he was probably a teacher or something. I ran over, my bags bouncing on my shoulder. I pulled up short when I realized how tall the figure was. I mean, he was abnormally tall. Michael Jordan, Yao Ming, any of the MBA stars had nothing on this guy.

"Excuse me," I began, walking a bit closer, "I'm Hermoine Granger. I'm a transfer student. Can you tell me where orientation is?"

"Ah, transfer? I di'int know Hogwarts 'ad transfers. Well, you'll pro'lly come with me an' the rest o' the first years, then McGonagall can figure out wut ta do with ya." He had horrible speech skills. But, seeing as how he was the only one who knew where I should go at the moment, I followed as he bellowed for first years to follow him the boats. I was thinking ferry boats, but I was proven wrong.

Before me were two person rowboats. Except they fit the first years, not a teenage girl. Not comfortably at least…I climbed into one and the children began filing into their own respective boats. I was beginning to think that I might get a boat to myself when something leapt onto the floor of my boat, rocking it dangerously.

"Jesus Christ!" I screamed, clutching the edges of the boat, trying to steady it.

"Impressive, huh? I jumped in here from the shore. Not the dock, the _shore_," the child that had jumped into my boat said, smirking and winking at me. I glanced back and saw that the shore wasn't really much closer than the dock.

"It's not like that's some great feat."

"My name's Rollo Flick," he literally threw himself at me, laying himself across my lap.

"Yeah, well why don't you flick off?" I shoved him to the floor in front of me.

"Mm mm I like 'em feisty." He made some sort of growly noise, probably thinking he was being sexy, but I found myself laughing hysterically. Rollo's brow furrowed and he pouted. I was so lost in my laughter that I barely noticed that the boats had started moving on their own. When I finally calmed down, I peered over the edge into the dark water. Rollo was only too eager to join me, and enthusiastically threw himself in my direction. The boat rocked perilously and I pulled myself away from the edge.

"Watch it, kid," I growled at him.

"And what would 'it' be? Can 'it' be you, my little Love Muffin?" He moved toward me, but I leaned to the side to avoid him. He switched sides quickly, as did I, and soon the boat was rocking very close to the water.

"Seriously, kid, knock it off! You're gonna tip us over!"

"Oh, Love Muffin, you're so cute when you're demanding. Mm, just call me the Muffin Man." He launched himself at me (the little creeper), and I threw myself out of the way. Out of the way, and into the water. It was cold, black, and made my muscles feel like they were being stuck with pins and needles. I broke the surface gasping for breath and screaming. "Love Muffin!"

"DON'T CALL ME THAT!!!!!!!"


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

I trudged into the castle and made my way to the top of the stairs, shoving kids out of the way and trying to outrun Rollo. At the top of the stairs, I saw an older woman in funny clothing and…a witch hat? What kind of school was this?

"My dear, what happened to you?" she said in a crisp Scottish accent.

"What happened? That brat," I pointed at Rollo, "made me fall into the lake."

"Well we need to get you cleaned up." She took a stick out of her sleeve and waved it at me. I was hit with gale force winds, and was dried in a matter of seconds.

"What the hell kind of blow dryer is that?" I nearly screamed.

"I'm afraid I don't quite understand the terminology, my dear, but you need to be sorted along with the first years. You are Hermione Granger, correct?"

"Yes, but-"

"Then just wait here until I call your name and we'll get you sorted." The woman pushed past me, opened two massive double doors, and led the kids through into a huge hall. The doors closed behind them with a loud thud, leaving me alone. I clicked my heels and rocked on my feet, wondering what she meant by "sorted". I reached my right hand to the back of my head to take care of an itch and heard a disapproving "Pfft". I turned around and was so shocked by what I saw that I threw myself backward, landing on the floor with a thud.

"What the-" Before me was a ghost. But…ghosts don't exist!

"Can I help you?" the pirate-ghost said in a hurried manner, as though he really couldn't care less.

"No thank you!" I crawled backward a foot. I pushed myself to my feet right as the massive doors opened. Turning, I saw probably over four hundred people- that's eight hundred eyes (give or take)- looking at me. I attempted a smile and gave a small wave. No reaction. The older woman from a few minutes earlier gestured for me to join her at the front, so I ducked my head down and wogged (it's a cross between walking and jogging) to the front.

Once there, the woman picked up a decrepit hat and motioned for me to sit on a wooden stool. I narrowed my eyes at her, my mouth slightly open, trying to figure out what she meant. She patted the stool, and I finally sat down. She sat the hat on my head, and the thing began moving. I nearly fell off the stool, I was caught off guard.

"I think there's something in the hat," I whispered to the woman, my voice very high pitched. She responded with a quizzical look, and the moment got even weirder.

The hat began to talk.

"My my, an interesting one we have here." My lips began to quiver. For all I knew, there was some sort of super-genius rat living in this hat, and it was going to eat my brain or something.

No more Pink and the Brain with Pixie Stix before bedtime!

"Very clever, though not what we're generally used to…cunning, but not so much devious…not much courage, but I can see fierce loyalty…very difficult…"

"Um…what's going on?" I asked out loud. The entire room, which had had a few whispers and conversations going on, went dead silent. Everyone was staring at me again, and I didn't like it one bit.

"I have decided…on Gryffindor!" the hat exclaimed. No applause, but no moans or whines. Just dead silence. The woman took the hat off of me and I stood up. I turned to look at her, not sure of what to do. She pointed me toward a table, so I sat down. I was next to two of the redheads I had seen at the train station.

"Hi…" I muttered out of formality. There was no way I wanted to actually start a conversation right now. I stood out so much, not wearing the ridiculous uniform that everyone else was wearing. Instead, I was wearing jeans, flats, and a cute purple halter top.

Way to stick out, 'Mione.

"So, welcome, new kid! What year are you transferring as?" one of the redheads piped up.

"Um, I think I'm a junior." I received blank looks. I calculated the "year" of schooling, "Eleventh year." Again, blank looks.

"I think she's mental," the other redheaded twin muttered to his brother, not taking his eyes off of me.

"Whatever!" I'd had enough, so I stood. Food materialized out of nowhere as I stood, which only freaked me out more. I took off running toward the doors. I could feel eyes on me, but I didn't care. Running was a sure way to get away from those eyes. I ran through the hallways, but naturally, I wasn't thinking clearly, and got lost.

"Great, just great," I muttered out loud, kicking a stone wall. I immediately regretted that, thanks to the pain reminding me that I was only wearing flats. I grabbed my toes, opening my mouth wide and only releasing a shuddering squeak.

"Lost are we?" I whirled around to see the blond boy. Draco, as I remembered?

"What do you want?" I tried not to sound too unpleasant, or too pleasant, for that matter. I had no idea what this kid was like, so I wanted to tread lightly for the time being.

"I saw you running out of the Great Hall, figured you'd get lost. I can see I was right." He took a few steps toward me, and I backed up toward the wall. The hallway we were in was rather dark, and I was feeling a little creeped out.

"Why would you care? I'm the new girl. Isn't it breaking ranks to befriend the new kid? Especially on the first night."

"I don't break ranks, I make them." Ooh he had a sexy voice. But he seemed a bit egotistical.

"Well, if you'll excuse me, mister…"

"Malfoy. Draco Malfoy."

"Let me guess…double oh nine?"

"I'm not sure what you mean, but if I had a name along those lines, it'd be more like Double Oh My," he advanced again, and was now a breath away from me.

"Hah, clever. Well, I've got to go…somewhere that isn't here." I turned to leave, and thankfully he didn't stop me.

I managed to wander my way into another lost hallway. It was also dark. I could barely see my hand in front of my face. But I was deep enough into the hallway that I couldn't really trace my steps (I had taken several turns), so I continued. I was feeling my way along a wall when I heard a skittering noise.

"Hello? Is anyone there?" Nothing. My breathing became shallower and my heartbeat quickened. I heard the skittering noise again, getting closer. This couldn't be good. "Hello?" I walked forward, trying to get away from the noise, which was echoing all around me. I rounded a corner and nearly jumped out of my skin.

But I calmed down quickly when I saw that the skittering noise had been a cat. "Hey kitty," I reached down to pick her up. She had long, dark fur and red eyes. "And what is your name?" I asked in a sweet voice. I had always liked cats, and tended to treat them like little humans.

"Her name is Misses Norris, and she's _my_ cat." My eyes widened when I heard the voice behind me. I turned to see Mr. Filch, who had been introduced at dinner as the groundskeeper.

"Um…" I held the cat out to the man, who took her into his arms quickly and possessively, reminding me of Smeagul from the Lord of the Rings. I backed away while he was petting Mrs. Norris and asking her questions such as "Did the nasty child hurt you?" When I was ten feet away, I turned tail and ran. And Mr. Filch began chasing me. I darted down side corridors and through doorways. I imagine that it must have looked an awful lot like a Scooby Doo chase. Finally I found a dark staircase, and rather than run down it like a sane person, I sat my bum on the banister and slid down. I was expecting there to be some sort of way to stop at the bottom of the banister, but the stairs most likely weren't designed for this kind of activity. I slid straight off of the banister and landed face-down on the stone tiles. Groaning loudly, I pushed myself up and saw an intricate wrought-iron door in front of a wooden door. I reached out to touch the iron vines, but was zapped on contact and thrown back against a pillar.

"This place hates me."

"No, it's just not going to let a Gryffindor into the Slytherin common room," Draco walked up next to me. "If you'd like to see inside, I can show you," he winked at me.

"No thank you. I just thought it was a pretty door." I stood and turned to leave. "How do I get to…well, I probably need to talk to someone in charge."

"Dumbledore's office is straight, left, the straight ahead. There a statue in a little alcove, which…I'll just take you. It's easier that giving directions."

I was about to object when he grabbed my wrist and pulled me after him. I was amazed that he could see where he was going, it was so dark. Finally we emerged into the entry way right outside the Great Hall. Draco led me to a statue.

"Licorice snaps." The statue began rotating, and a staircase began to rise. Draco gestured for me to go, so I ascended, and found myself at a door. I knocked three times and the door swung open. An old man, the man who'd been giving a speech at dinner, sat behind an oak desk. I approached him and began my plea.

"Headmaster Dumbledore, I think I'm here by mistake. This isn't a catholic boarding school like I was expecting. There's something off, and I have a feeling this is a…kool aid drinking kind of campus." I wasn't sure if he'd even understand my last statement, considering the situation, but I figured what the hell?

"Miss Granger, you received a letter of admission did you not?"

"Yes, but the letter said nothing about-"

"And you can clearly see the castle just fine."

"Well yes, but if you'd just lis-"

"I'm positive that you are here by no mistake." He sat back in a high backed chair, fingertips touching.

"Sir, I don't think I belong at this school."

"That will be for us to decide. I trust you have all of you school supplies?"

"I have notebooks, folders, a schoolbag, pens, pencils, a graphing calculator, binders…" I trailed off as he held up a hand.

"Do you have a wand? Parchment, quills, those things?"

"Um, no. But my little sister has a Pretty Princess Peach wand, I can get that from home if I really need to…"

"Tomorrow, I will have one of our prefects take you to Diagon Alley and help you get your proper supplies. In the meantime, I will sort out the mumble that occurred with your acceptance letter."

"Sir, I really don't think-"

"And don't forget, your dorms password is _Felix Felisis_." And with that, he ushered me out of his office and down the stairs. I arrived back in the entryway of the castle to see a few stragglers leaving the Great Hall. I noticed the two boys that I had shared a cabin with on the train.

"Harry, Ron!" I called, walking up the stairs to meet them. But four steps up, I went sliding down through one of the steps. "AH!" I screamed, realizing I was partially inside a _step_.

The boys rushed back to help me, "Yeah, you gotta look out for the occasional quick-sand step," Harry muttered, pulling me out. Thank god I didn't way too much. They led me up the stairs- which I noticed were _changing_- and to a portrait of a…rather voluptuous woman.

"Felix Felisis," Ron mumbled out. The portrait _nodded_ at him and swung open. Was I high?


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

I woke up in the girl's dorms of the Gryffindor tower to find that I was the last up. I opened my trunk and changed into some low-rider flair jeans and a dark purple t-shirt. I slipped on a pair of Rocket Dog sneakers, tied my hair up into a loose pony tail, and bounced down the stairs and out of the common room. I found my way back to the Great Hall, my stomach growling, and found Harry and Ron.

"Mind if I join you?" I asked. I waited for Harry to nod, his mouth too full of food to speak. I swung my leg over the bench and perched on the edge, eyeing the food.

I was in heaven.

There was toast, eggs, chocolate mousse, and, most importantly, bacon. I loaded my plate with the glorious strips of ham and began munching. Harry and Ron were enjoying an in-depth conversation of professional-league Quidditch- something along the lines of Victor Krum would beat the pants off of Ireland this year. I was trying to listen to the conversation for clues as to what kind of school I was at, but I was completely lost. But luckily I was saved.

"Miss Granger," the headmaster's voice came from the doorway, "Come with me."

I turned, stood, and walked to the doors. "Headmaster," I nodded.

"It's time for you to get your supplies. We were short on available prefects to take you shopping, but I managed to find one. This way," he waved me out of the room. I followed Dumbledore into the Entry Hall and saw…Draco.

"_He's_ taking me shopping?" I scowled.

"Yes, he was the only available prefect."

"I see…"

"Up to my office to use the floo."

"The what?"

"The floo. It's-"

"I'll show her, professor," Draco piped up in a smooth voice. He jogged a few steps to take the lead, and I begrudgingly followed him into the headmaster's office. There was no fire in the fireplace, and Draco grabbed a handful of powder out of a bowl, and stepped into the fire place. "Diagon Alley," and he dropped the powder, was engulfed by green flames, and disappeared.

"Oh my god! I'm not going in there, I don't wanna die," I backed away from the fire place. Dumbledore put his hand on my shoulder and gently pushed me forward. In moments I was inside the fire place. Dumbledore grabbed a handful of the powder.

"Diagon Alley," he dropped the powder, and I found myself hurtling forward.

I stumbled forward, moments away from falling flat on my face, when I was caught by strong arms. One foot from the ground, I came to a halt, and was then pulled back against what felt like a brick wall. The arms wrapped around me and I realized that it was a person.

"Well isn't this cozy?" I rolled my eyes at the sound of my shopping buddy's voice.

"Let me go right now."

"Oh, but I'm comfortable." I felt his hot breath on my neck, right near my ear. It sent tingles down my spine, and I could sense Draco smirk in response. The very fact that we were close enough for him to feel my shiver was more than a bit unnerving. He transferred his firm grip to hold both of my hands in one of his, and slid the other up my arm. "You know we'll have to get you fitted for robes. Can't wait to see you try some on…or off," his lips brushed my neck and I got chills again.

"If you don't let me go, I'll-"

"What, you'll shiver again? I don't think that'd be too bad at all. I kind of like it when you're body shakes against mine." I stiffened.

"Let me go or I'll break your foot."

Draco sighed loudly, "You sure know how to ruin my fun." He released me, and I whirled around and punched him in the jaw. I shook my hand, wincing at the pain. I'd never punched someone before, and it definitely didn't look painful in all of the action movies I'd seen.

"What is wrong with you?" Draco whined, rubbing his jaw.

"I should ask you the same thing." I crossed my arms.

"Whatever. Let's get your school stuff." With an overdramatic (and rather evil) flourish of his robes, he was walking off. I rolled my eyes and followed.

Draco led me to an old shop front, which read "Ollivander's".

"What is this place?"

"It's a wand shop."

We entered the store and I began coughing. Damn allergies. Draco flicked a glance in my direction, but continued to the counter and rang the bell. An old man appeared from behind a shelf.

"Can I help you?"

"She needs a wand," Draco stated, nodding at me. I looked over and gave a sheepish smile.

"Right then." Out of nowhere, I was being measured by floating tapes and rulers.

"How is that…what's going on?"

"You act like you've never seen magic before," Draco spat.

"The only magic I've seen is at school talent shows and primary school birthday parties," I said, whipping my head around to watch the tape measure.

"You mean you're a mudblood?" Draco practically roared. The old man coughed and nearly fell over, and I put my hand on his shoulder.

"Please refrain from such vulgar language in my shop, Mister Malfoy," he said, shooting an unexpected glare at Draco.

"I'm sorry, what does mud-"

"Don't repeat it!"

"You don't even know what it means? Can you even _do_ magic?" Draco was dripping in ferocity, and he seemed to have grown about four inches in attitude.

"Well I know this card trick that my-"

"Unbelievable! Un-fucking believable!" he threw his hands up, turning away from me.

"What crawled up your ass and died?" I crossed my arms defensively. So I wasn't a magician or whatever, big deal. I could do other things. I was great at tennis, for one! I'd like to see that blond lump of ego give a proper forehand serve.

"I can't believe I wasted any time on you," Draco sneered, cringing at the very sight of me.

"Cherrywood!" the old man yelled, holding up a narrow box.

"What?" Draco and I asked in unison.

"Cherrywood with an owl feather. I'm pretty sure it's the right fit." He took a wand out of the box and handed it to me. I grabbed it and a warm glow started around me.

"Perfect!" And with that we were ushered out of the shop.

"So what's next?" I looked at Draco.

"School books."

"Oh, really? Not a few more insults? Maybe a slap?" I stalked after him as he weaved through the crowd, heading toward a store called "Flourish and Blott's". He didn't answer me, but swept into the building, me trailing after him.

"What am I even supposed to have?" I asked, regarding a few of the displayed titles. What kind of book was "The Practical and Impractical Uses of Dragon Blood"?

"I've got your list," Draco huffed, piling books into my arms. I nearly dropped them, but managed to keep a hold on them.

"'The World Beyond'? What exactly will I be studying?"

Draco rolled his eyes, "Transfigurations, potions, charms, history of magic, divination," he tapped the cover before continuing, "and there are a few electives which you'll have to talk to Dumbledore about. I'm guessing muggle studies would be to your strengths." He said the last sentence like it was the most worst-tasting thing to ever be in his mouth.

"Is there something I'm missing?" I followed as he left to get more books. "I mean, you were practically…actually, you _were_ feeling me up before you found out that I've never done magic before." Draco responded by dumping more books into my arms. Now, I'll admit that I'm a bookworm. I've probably carried more books than this several times. But the fact that I had been walking behind him before he suddenly stopped, and then he practically threw the books into my arms, I was thrown off-balance and toppled onto my bum. The books went everywhere, and I was reminded of my wretched days of middle school, when I had beaver teeth, much bushier hair, and hadn't developed any athletic talent whatsoever.

I scrambled to gather the books and stood up. Draco had apparently paid for the books, so he dragged me out of the store, and right into the one across the street. It was a clothing store full of brightly colored robes and dresses. There were a few styles that I'd seen before, but they were vastly outnumbered by the robes.

"She needs Gryffindor robes for school," Draco muttered to a woman, who loaded me up with black robes with a red and gold crest.

"Shouldn't I try these on?" I murmured.

"Are you questioning my skill of estimating people's bodies and sizes?" The woman actually seemed insulted.

"No, no no no, I was just…I normally try everything on, so I was-"

"Well it's already time we get you back." Draco dragged me out of the store and back to the fireplace that we'd arrived in. It was relatively the same drill, except that Draco grabbed my arm (rather roughly) and transported the both of us at the same time.

Draco was gone by the time Dumbledore finished greeting me, so I had to get all of my new school supplies to the Gryffindor tower all on my own. Trust me, when you have to face moving staircases, quick sand stairs, and enough books and robes to start a cult, you miss elevators and boxes.

I had put all of my new things into my trunk when my stomach growled. I went to the Great Hall for lunch, and once again saw Harry and Ron.

"Hey, mind if I join you?" Harry affirmed while Ron stuffed his mouth with food. Was he blushing? Anyway, I had questions that I wanted answers to.

"So…new school year."

"Yeah."

"Um…listen, I had no idea that this was some sort of…magic school. I've gotta be honest, I'm still not sure I believe it. Does this place have a library or something?"

"Oh, yeah, it's…" Harry paused and turned to Ron. "Where _is_ the library?" He had to be kidding.

Ron swallowed and shrugged, "Why you asking me?"

"Oh, well, I'll find it on my own. I can smell out books." Seeing that they weren't amused by my attempt at humor, I climbed up from the bench, grabbing a sandwich. I walked out of the Great Hall taking a few bites and began my search for the library.


	4. Chapter 4

AN: Okay, so I've decided to write this chapter from Draco's point of view, just to spice things up a bit. Also, PLEASE REVIEW!!!! I really like getting reviews and learning what I can do better, as well as maybe see what you guys want to read, or if you've caught onto foreshadowing and whatnot (don't worry, there hasn't been any thus far). Well, I've rambled long enough, so without further ado, Chapter 4!!

Chapter 4

I arrived in my dorms and kicked my trunk. She's a mudblood! How could I not have noticed? Saint Magnifique? Like there would be any self-respecting wizarding school with a name like that! I threw myself onto my bed and sighed loudly and, if it's even possible, aggressively. I was pissed at her for leading me on like that. Well, okay, she hadn't exactly been asking for the attention that I gave her (not out loud, at least). But I'm the Prince of Slytherin, the Sex God of Hogwarts! Come to think of it, anything that involves sex and warts in the same sentence is kind of sickening…but that wasn't the issue! I rolled onto my side, hoping to leave all thoughts of her back on my pillow. At least there, no one would have to know what was really going on in my head. I'd have to be extremely cruel to her to make up for the way I'd acted earlier. My door opened a bit and Pansy slinked into the room.

"What do you want?" I spat.

"Oh, nothing…nothing that you wouldn't be willing to give." She stood at the foot of my bed, then slowly began crawling up. I rolled to my back, right back to the thoughts of the mudblood. Pansy advanced slowly and deliberately, and I could see that her school blouse had been unbuttoned perilously low. She had a glint in her eye and a Slytherin smirk on her face as she moved to straddle my waist. She ran her hands down the front of my shirt, unbuttoning it skillfully. "Where were you today?"

That made my thoughts drift back to Hermione. I mean Granger. I mean the mudblood. I mean…oh bloody hell. I saw She-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named in my head, and subconsciously projected her face onto Pansy. I had to fight the urge to groan as I thought of all the naughty things I could do to "Her" right now. Blood be damned, she'd already gotten into my system, and I needed to purge somehow.

I grabbed Pansy's hips and rolled her over.

I was in the Great Hall eating a late lunch when I overheard the Gryffindors. Harry-blessed-Potter was conversing with the Weasel, and they were obviously trying to be inconspicuous. But, like everything else they did, they were unsuccessful, so I heard their conversation loud and clear.

"So Harry, you know the new girl?"

"Yeah, what about her?"

"She seems nice."

"Yeah. I bit weird, though. I mean, how could you not know that Hogwarts was a school for magic?"

"Yeah, she's a bit of a nutter. But she's cute. In a skin-and-bones-headstrong-bookworm-y sort of way…" the Weasel added the last sentence a little too quickly.

"Ron, are you saying…do you like her?"

"I'm not saying that, I'm just saying…"

"Holy Merlin, you like her!"

"Shut up, Harry!" he hissed. For some reason, I was getting mad. But why? It didn't make any sense! I mean, the girl was beneath me. Sure she was…_marginally_ attractive, but there were lots of girls at this school. Plenty that blew her out of the water. The Weasel pretty much had it down when he called her skin and bones. And she was _very_ headstrong. Why was thinking about her so much? I'd only met her the other day, and it's not like we've actually done anything.

Now I was sick. I stood and left the Great Hall. Even after taking out my frustrations (AN: he's not abusive, don't worry. They were other frustrations *wink wink*) on Pansy, she was still in my head. I went to the library. Maybe she'd put a spell or charm on me? Un-bloody-likely. She was new to magic. Still, at least the library was quiet, and she probably hadn't been there yet, so I'd be safe for a while. I pushed through the door and snuck into the restricted section. Few of the students would dare go in the section, so I'd have even more quiet. I wound my way to my private table, which I'd claimed in second year, and froze. _She_ was there. At _my_ table. In _my_ favorite seat. How dare she taint my secret place? I would have dragged her out of the seat by that bushy hair of hers if I hadn't noticed that she was wearing her uniform…and she had her legs bent, knees to her chest, feet on the chair. I couldn't see much, but I got a great view of her thighs. There was something to be said for girls in school uniforms. A big something. I watched as she absent-mindedly wrapped a strand of hair around her finger. She tilted her head to the right, probably having found something interesting in the text. I was so lost in watching that I didn't notice him until he was right next to her. I leaned forward a bit so I could hear them clearly.

"So, Love Muffin, how are you on this glorious day?" Love Muffin? What a sap.

"Don't call me that," she said, not even turning to look at him. The kid flipped his hair, and I recognized the gesture. Hang on, wasn't I related to that kid? He was a Slytherin, so it was a definite possibility. He was also blond. Not as blond as I was, but blonder than the general populous of blonds. Dammit, what was his name? Riddle…Rupert…Raphael- no, that was my cousin from Italy, with the black hair and the Angelina lips. Why couldn't I remember his name?

"So, babe, why don't you ditch the books and head out into the forest with me?" he leaned up against the table, probably trying to look like a stud. I mean, that's what I would do. Except I was tall enough to actually _sit_ on the table rather than lean on it.

Hermione snorted, "Un-bloody-likely, pipsqueak." Oh my god, she spoke kind of like me! That was very surprising, to say the least.

"Pipsqueak? Why don't you join me in the forest and I can show you the contrary?" the kid smirked. Why couldn't I remember his name?

"Listen, you little Swish and _Flick_er, I don't want to go into the forest with you. I don't want to go anywhere with you. Hell, I don't even want to stay _here_ with you." That's it! Rollo Flick! That's his name! God, why couldn't I remember that? His family had just visited not three months ago.

"How dare you insult me! Do you know who I am?" Rollo was livid, and no longer leaning against the table.

"Yeah, apparently you're the Muffin Man," Hermione didn't even bother looking up from her book. She obviously didn't know that you couldn't trust a Slytherin. Wait, yeah you could! I mean, she could trust me. But not really…I mean, I _was_ acting like I didn't like her even though I was still attracted to her…

"I have all the other girls wrapped around my little finger!" Rollo practically yelled.

"Yeah, I'd say you have the size estimate about right." Again, she didn't even look at him. Rollo began huffing, outraged by her comment, and pulled out his wand. I had to intervene…

AN: And so the plot thickens!! Okay, not really quite yet, but it will, don't worry!! Remember, PLEASE REVIEW! Reviews are love, and I could definitely use some if you all wanna see more chapters. And let me know whose point of view you prefer more, and if you'd like me to maybe continue switching every now and then. Peace and love!! ~Kandell


	5. Chapter 5

AN: I've taken all two of my reviews to heart, so I've decided to really start on the plot. It's back to Hermione's point of view, so heeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeere weeeeeeeeeeeeeeee gooooooooooooo!

Chapter 5

"Put the wand away, Rollo." I looked up to see Draco Malfoy sweeping forward in long strides. When Rollo hesitated, Draco grabbed the wand out of his hand. "This is not a toy." He pointed it at Rollo, who cowered. "Go on, go eat some pudding or chase after girls your own age. Go on!" Rollo practically sprinted out of the library.

"What are you doing here?" I asked, still a bit upset at his cruel twist of attitude toward me.

"It's a library. I'm allowed to be here if I want. What are you doing in the restricted section?"

"It's quieter than the main study area. Easier to focus." I didn't bother looking up. I heard his robes slide across the wood table as he sat, and inconspicuously flicked my eyes up at him then back down to my book. When it was obvious that he wasn't going to leave, I snapped the book shut and left. I did _not_ like to be watched while I read.

It was a little after midnight, and I was still awake, staring at the top of my four-poster bed. I sighed and got up, putting on my slippers, and grabbed my torch from the trunk at the foot of my bed. I wasn't normally adventurous, but I was in a creepy old castle with ghosts and witches and god knows what else. I had to see what was out there. I grabbed a coat, more as an afterthought, and left the Gryffindor tower.

I was wandering through the halls flashing my torch around to see what the corridors were like. I got yelled at by several angry portraits, but didn't encounter anyone else. That's when I heard a scuffling noise. Crap, not the groundskeeper again! I turned off the torch and sprinted down the hall, away from the noise. I turned several corners and stopped with a scream. Before me was a moonlit version of myself. But when I took a breath, I noticed that it was actually a mirror. I took a step forward and looked at the ornate frame that the glass rested in. It looked like gold, and it must have been ancient. I looked back to my reflection and nearly died of fright when I saw a shadow right behind me. Whirling around, I saw nothing. I turned back to the mirror and saw, more clearly, that the shadow had morphed into the shape of a man. His back was to me, and he was cloaked in black. I took another step forward, wanting to see who it was. The figure began to turn, very slowly, its head bent down. Another step. The figure was now right behind me in the reflection, and was beginning to look up. I screamed and threw myself away from the mirror. The figure looked like it was right behind me, a man with a pallid face, red eyes, and a snakelike nose. If I'd been in the mood for humor, I'd have made a comment about Michael Jackson. But I wasn't amused in the slightest. I was terrified. The man started to laugh, and I could hear him clearly like he actually was behind me. I looked up and saw that he actually was behind me, and tried to scramble away from him. He reached down and grabbed the front of my pajamas, pulling me up to his eye level. Only he was so tall compared to me that my feet were a good two feet off of the ground. My breathing grew shallow, my eyes widened, and I thought I was going to die.

"Wake up, Hermione," he hissed.

I screamed and thrashed, and all at once woke up to see myself kicking and clawing at the girls in my dorm. I was sweating and out of breath, and the other girls didn't look better.

"What's wrong?" Professor McGonagall came into the room with a candle, being led by Ron's sister.

"She was having a fit in her sleep," the redhead girl said.

"Thank you, Ginny, will you go alert the headmaster?" So that was her name. McGonagall rushed to my side and felt my forehead. I glanced over to the clock to see that is was one in the morning. "Are you alright?"

"I-I think so." I mumbled, embarrassed at the attention. "It was just a nightmare."

"What was it about?" one of the girls, Lavender, I think, asked.

"A…a mirror, and a…snake man." I muttered. I didn't want to be ridiculed for having odd nightmares, but not telling would probably make the attention more intense. I looked up at McGonagall, who had paled. "Professor?" She responded by grabbing my hand and dragging me out of the room. She led me out of Gryffindor tower and through the hallways, toward the headmaster's office. We passed Ginny on the way there, and McGonagall told her to go straight to bed.

"Headmaster, we have a problem." McGonagall called as soon as we were in the office.

"What's wrong?"

"She's had a nightmare about…You-Know-Who." They both turned their eyes, very dramatically I might add, to me. I could feel the worry creeping around in my stomach.

"Who's You-Know-Who?" I asked.

The headmaster ignored my question and began an interrogation, "What did you see?"

"Well, I dreamt that I was exploring the castle, and I found this mirror-"

"The Mirror of Erised."

"And I saw a reflection of someone behind me, but there wasn't anyone there. When the reflection turned around, it was some sort of snake man. I mean, he was a man, but he looked like a snake. His face did, at least. He was all pale, with red eyes and no nose. Well, he had these two slit things, which might have been a nose, but-"

"Continue."

"Well, I screamed and fell backward, and then the snake man actually _was_ behind me, and he picked me up and lifted me off of the ground and I was really scared, and he told me to wake up, and then I did…Professor McGonagall was just entering when I woke up."

"Albus, what does this mean?" McGonagall seemed genuinely terrified about my nightmare.

"I'm not sure." The headmaster sat down behind his desk, looking very disturbed.

"Um…who is You-Know-Who?" I tried again.

The professors looked at me, remembering that I wasn't used to this world. "You-Know-Who," McGonagall began.

"Voldemort," the headmaster cut her off, and she shot him a disapproving glance. "He was an evil wizard who tried to take over our world. He and his followers tortured and killed countless wizards, witches and muggles."

"So he was a pretty messed up guy." I stated, getting even more worried.

"The last person he tried to kill was Harry Potter. But the killing curse backfired, and Harry survived while Voldemort was killed."

"So, if he's dead, why does my nightmare matter?"

"How could you have a nightmare about someone you've never even heard of?"

AN: Dun dun dun! And so the plot begins! Remember, REVIEW!!!!!! Thanks! And yeah, the chapters have been getting shorter, but not to worry, they'll average out in length. Let me know if you have questions, comments, et cetera. To clear up any confusion, Harry has not had to deal with Voldemort during his schooling. That's why Hermione's dream was such a shock and worry to everyone. Well, that's it for right now. Peace and love!


	6. Chapter 6

AN: Well, I've gotten some pretty good reviews, and I'm on a sort of Dramione high, so I've been writing like no tomorrow.

Chapter 6

Dumbledore and McGonagall sent me to bed immediately. I slipped under the covers, but didn't want to go to sleep. I could tell that none of the other girls were asleep, and I could feel their eyes on me. Was it so hard to just leave someone alone? I guess so…

I finally fell asleep out of exhaustion, but woke early that morning. I grabbed my things and went to the showers. I was the first one there, thank god, and got to shower in peace. I was dressed and to breakfast by the time it was served, and was joined after a few minutes by Harry and Ron.

"So, Ginny was saying that you had a bad dream last night?" Ron fished for a conversation. I merely nodded, not really wanting to talk about it.

"What was it about?" Harry inquired.

"A mirror. And a man. It wasn't all that interesting," I shrugged.

"Ah. Ginny made it sound like the Dark Lord himself was in your dream. She said you were thrashing around and crying." My guess is that Ron lacks social graces. Either that, or he was just insensitive. I ignored his comment nonetheless and continued eating my French toast. I hadn't had French toast since the beginning of the summer, when my parents welcomed me back from Saint Magnifique. I was lost in the memories of my old school when my attention was dragged to a commotion at the entry hall doorways. Being the ever-curious teenagers that we were, we all rushed to the doors to see what the commotion was.

"There is no way that he could be back, Albus!" some man in a bowler hat and suit was yelling at the headmaster, coming out of the office.

"Cornelius, please, you'll alarm the students!" The headmaster's voice was a harsh whisper, but everyone was so intent on being quiet enough to hear that his words carried far enough.

"There is nothing to alert them of!" Cornelius, the man in the hat, stormed out of the castle, leaving the headmaster to look over at us. He looked straight into my eyes, but didn't say anything. He merely swept back to his office, leaving us all to chatter.

"What do you think that was about?" Harry demanded of Ron as we returned to our places at the Gryffindor table.

"I dunno, but I definitely want to find out." He helped himself to an entire plateful of treacle tart.

"If you'll excuse me, I need to go to the library." I stood and left, the boys not catching my tone of urgency.

I was in the restricted section of the library, looking through the "V" section. I had been going through the restricted area for almost an hour by now. Why couldn't wizards use the dewey decimal system? I had started at "D" for "Dark Lord", but found nothing, and now I was looking for books using his name.

"How do you even spell Voldemort?" I wondered aloud.

"Why would you wanna spell that?" I whirled around to face Draco Malfoy. He was so close he was almost touching me. His blue eyes peered down through the hair that had fallen in his face. He put his hands on the bookcase, on either side of my shoulders, trapping me. I swallowed, trying to come up with a response. I mean, one doesn't normally research dark wizards when one is throwing tea parties and whatnot.

"I heard some kids talking about it, and I was curious."

"So you look in the restricted section?"

"I started in the front of the library, but they didn't have anything, so I moved back here. You have a problem with that?" I crossed my arms defensively and straightened my back. I tilted my chin up in defiance and met his clear blue eyes with my dark hazel ones. His skin was so pale and perfect, like porcelain. Mine on the other hand was a pale olive with sun-born freckles, thanks to my days playing tennis outside. It struck me then how opposite we were. He was loaded with recessive genes, I was mixed in everything. He was a purebred poodle, I was a mutt. I subconsciously smiled at the thought of him as a poodle, all primped, straight from the groomers. Draco must have noticed because he spoke up.

"What are you smiling at?" His voice was annoyed, but not angry at all.

"You're a poodle."

"What?"

"Oh, nothing." My breath hitched in my throat as Draco moved toward me. "What are you doing?"

"Nothing…yet."

"What do you mean?" my voice cracked at the end.

"Why don't we find out together?" His voice was low and smooth. There was a glint in his eyes, something I couldn't recognize. His head lowered toward mine and I panicked. I slipped down to the floor. "Well, you move a bit fast." I ignored his comment and scrambled to the left, out of his reach. "Too fast," he frowned.

"I thought you didn't want anything to do with me," I stood, straightening my clothes.

"Things are complicated."

"Yeah, sure. If you don't mind, I have some research to do." I pushed him away from the bookshelf and continued my search.

I got through the entire "V" section with no luck. I huffed, leaned against the bookshelf, and slid to my feet. I sighed, throwing my head back against the leather-bound books.

"No luck?" Draco slid down next to me.

"What are you doing here? I thought you left."

"I didn't have anything better to do."

"Well, fine. I've gotta go." I stood and left. I didn't like the butterflies I got when Draco was around. I mean, after all the mean things he'd said to me, I should hate him!

I hurried back to the Gryffindor tower and changed. I changed from my street clothes into a pair of shorts, a sports bra, and a tank top. I tied my hair into a ponytail, grabbed my ipod and deck, and headed to an empty classroom. I closed the door, cleared the few chairs to the edges of the room, and set the deck and ipod on the largest desk. I scrolled through my music selection to the playlist I had made while I was taking dance classes. I hadn't done choreography in a while, but it was really like riding a bike. I hit the button, and "Kiss Kiss" started playing.

I lost myself in the music.

FROM DRACO'S POV

After she'd left the library, I needed to go for a walk. But I didn't want to go outside and be swamped by all of the first year Slytherin girls. So I opted for an indoor walk. I was wandering around somewhere on the fourth floor when I heard music. It was barely more than a hum, but the beat was interesting, and I was curious to see where it came from. I put my ear to the door and could hear footsteps on the other side. I silently pushed the door open and peeked in.

I had never seen anyone dance like that before! Hermione was wiggling and jumping and making very precise motions that I'd never seen. She seemed completely oblivious that I was watching, so I sat on the desk to enjoy the show.

HERMIONE'S POV

I danced through several songs until the playlist reached a ballad. It was a love song that I had been in a ballet recital with. But rather than stop dancing, I transferred to the actual dance I had done. I was still lost in the music, so the classroom had transformed into a stage, with the spotlight on me. I spun, leapt, did a few plies and pirouettes, and was spinning, slowly, arms outstretched, when my imagination got really overactive.

Draco gently grabbed an outstretched hand and moved, behind me, his hand on my stomach. I placed my hand over his and closed my eyes. It all felt so real! Then again, this was a magic school. I leapt, and it felt like Draco actually lifted me. I leaned my head back, smiling. I long fantasized about dancing this was with someone. So it happened to be a jerk like Malfoy? Right now, it didn't matter. I landed lightly on the floor and Malfoy twirled me, stopping me with a hand spread across my lower back. I looked into his eyes, which stared back at me with an intensity that seemed so real. We were chest to chest, actually touching, and I had to admit that I liked it. Draco twirled me again, then we stretched apart, and I spun into him. He slid his hand across my stomach and pulled me close. I felt his breath on my neck as he leaned down and brushed his lips against my skin. I moaned softly, my eyes closed, then spun away from him. He pulled me back and we resumed the chest-to-chest position. He stepped forward, and I took his lead, retreating, until we spun together, eyes locked. The song was ending, now only an instrumental, as he leaned down and brushed his lips against mine. I closed my eyes and kissed him back. The song ended, and I pulled myself out of my fantasy.

But when I opened my eyes, Draco was still there. I did the only thing I could think of. I screamed and slapped him. I ran over to my ipod and shut it off, and turned back to face him.

"What the hell was that?"

"I was walking, I heard music, so I came to watch. After that song started I felt like joining you. It's a good thing I took ballroom lessons when I was younger."

"You watched me dance?"

"How'd you find this room, anyway? I didn't think you'd gotten to the fourth floor quite yet."

"I found it the other night, when I was exploring." The memory was rather clear in my mind. I'd found the room a few minutes before I'd found the…mirror.

There was a loud noise and glass showered both Draco and I. He grabbed my biceps and yanked me to him, shielding both of us with his cloak. I was thankful for that, since I was wearing shorts and a tank top. When the glass had settled, I peeked over his should to see what had happened. What I saw stopped my breath and sent shivers down my spine…

AN: The plot thickens! Ish…keep reviewing!! ((Please)) I'm on Spring Break, so I've got nothing but time to work on my writing, and I really wanna know what you all think! Peace and love!


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

There was a gaping hole in the wall, and wolfish creatures were pouring into the classroom. I screamed as something ripped me away from Draco and toward the hole in the wall.

"HELP!" I reached out toward him, straining to get closer. I could see him reach out for my hand too, but I was being taken too fast One of the wolf creatures kicked him in the head, and he went down. I couldn't see if he was unconscious or not, but I was soon too far to be able to tell. Everything was happening so fast, and before I knew it, thanks to the jostling as the wolf creatures ran, I hit my head on something and was out cold.

I woke up in a dark, cold, wet room. I rubbed my head and saw that my wrists were chained to a stone wall, but I had about eight feet of chain on either wrist so I would be able to move around. I stood and looked around. I was in a circular, stone room, with no doors. How did I even get in here? My answer came in the form of a sudden pop, and a figure walked toward me. I wanted to retreat, but I was determined to not show any fear, so I stood my ground. The person was wearing a mask, so I couldn't see what they looked like.

"Who are you?" I demanded, raising my chin.

"A bit of an attitude considering your situation." The voice was male. He had continued walking toward me, and was now inches away. But I wasn't going to give in! I lifted my chin even more to meet his eyes, and saw something disturbing. His eyes were just like Draco's…but the voice wasn't. So it couldn't have been him.

"You kidnapped me from school, I think I deserve an explanation as to what's going on!" But the man was stopped from answering my question when another pop was heard and another cloaked figure joined us.

"Lucius, what do you think you are doing?" I recognized the voice. A shiver went down my spine as the new figure turned to reveal his snakelike face.

"You!" I took a step back. He, on the other hand, took three sweeping strides to stand a bit in front of Lucius, looking down at me.

"You look so much like your mother…"

"What are you talking about? I don't look anything like her. She's blond."

"I'm talking about your real mother," the snake-man…what was his name again? Oh yeah, Voldemort, said.

"Anne _is_ my real mother." I glared at him. How dare he suggest that I was adopted? I mean, sure I didn't look like my beauty queen of a mother, but I was her daughter nonetheless!

"Your real mother's name was Lianna." He said the last name tenderly, which seemed so out of place for him.

"Oh yeah, and how would _you_ know?" I spat.

"Because I am your father."

"Liar. This isn't Star Wars, okay? Dramatic lines like that aren't going to push the plot of anything." I glared at him, outraged that he would dare try something like this. Lucius waved a wand, probably not liking being ignored, and the chains around my wrists tightened, dragging me back toward the wall.

"Lucius, this isn't the time," Voldemort admonished. Lucius, rather than apologize, merely looked at the ground. I imagined that beneath the mask he looked like a kindergartner that had just been told to stand in the corner for all of recess. "Have you called your son?"

"Yes, my lord."

"Good. Now, Hermione, it is time that you learn about your past." I could tell that this was not going to be pleasant…

"When I was in power, I met a witch. A pureblood witch named Lianna. At first she was hesitant about me, but we spent time together, and we fell in love. We were married, and spent two wonderful years together. Mere months before my fall, we had a child. You. But then I lost all of my powers. I have spent the last seventeen years regaining my powers and a body," I winced at the last to words. That meant that he had either taken over someone else, or had grown it or something. "And I've done it so I can find you."

"Yeah, that's a nice little story, but I don't believe a word of it."

"Why do you think you lived in the muggle world for all these years? Lianna didn't want you to live in the wizarding world because she didn't want you to know about me."

"Why, because you're evil?"

"I'm not evil, I'm superior."

"Whatever your mom tells you." This struck a chord in Voldemort, though I didn't know why and didn't want to find out. "Where is Lianna anyway? Wouldn't she have stayed with me to raise me?"

"Right after you were born, I made a deal with a loyal follower." Voldemort was ignoring my comment and I could see, even though he wore a mask, that Lucius was smirking. "My Hermione would be wed to his first born son. His son was young, but had already embraced our ways."

"Oh, you mean he kicks kittens too?" I was not liking the way this conversation was going. Marriage? And an _arranged_ marriage, at that? Sorry, but I had made a promise to myself that I was only going to marry someone I loved.

"This would be a lot easier if you would just listen and not talk," Voldemort turned to me.

"You obviously don't know what it's like to parent a teenager," I rolled my eyes.

Lucius nodded slightly, but Voldemort ignored him, "Don't roll your eyes at me!" Oh god, maybe what he was saying was true…but then again, _every_ adult hates it when teenagers are snarky.

"So you're saying that I'm going to marry some guy that I don't know and won't like?" I crossed my arms with the little amount of chain that I had left.

"You will learn to like him."

"Un-freaking-likely!"

"My son speaks like that too," Lucius commented.

"Speaking of which, where is he?" Voldemort turned his attention to the masked man.

"I sent him an owl since I can't apparate there. He should be here any moment." As if on cue, there was another pop, and we were joined by…

"Draco?"

AN: And so the plot thickens even more! Remember, REVIEW!!!! ((please)) I really wanna know what you all think! Peace and love!


	8. Chapter 8

AN: Well, I understand that Voldemort being Hermione's dad is a bit ((a LOT *cough cough*)) out of the blue, so hopefully this chapter will clarify things, and establish it a bit more. Sorry if Voldemort seems a bit OOC. Hermione gets VERY OOC near the end of the chapter, but remember that the story's AU, so please don't hate me! ^^"

Chapter 8

"What game are you playing at?" I demanded. "First you get wolf-things to kidnap me, then you tell me some cock'n'bull story about how I'm your long-lost daughter, and then you try to tell me I'm engaged? To _him_?" I glared at all three of the men, especially Draco. He had been a part of this the whole time? Jerk…

"This is no game, my dear." I recoiled as Voldemort said the last word. I wasn't his daughter, and I certainly wasn't his _dear_. "You are the only descendant of the most powerful wizard in history. You should be proud." Voldemort straightened his spine to accent the last sentence, but I wasn't buying it.

"You're not my father, Voldemort. You're just some psychotic wizard-king wannabe who got bested by a baby." I could see the rage in his red eyes, but something was making him hold back.

"You would be wise to remember to hold your tongue, Hermione." He turned to Draco, "Do you know where her wand is?" Draco shook his head.

"Wand? I left it in my trunk back at school." Voldemort looked at me like I had a cactus growing out of my nose.

"You left your wand?" He seemed utterly shocked. Lucius snorted, and Voldemort shot him a reprimanding glare, causing Draco's father to look at the floor.

"In hindsight it's probably a good thing I left it. Wouldn't want some nutter like yourself getting a hold of it, now would we?" I lifted my chin defiantly.

"You will not speak to me like that."

"Why not?"

"I am your father."

"Nu-uh."

"Yes, I am."

"Nu-uh."

"Yes, I am." He said it with more force this time, but I'd be damned if I gave in.

"Nu-uh!"

"Yes, I am!"

"NU-UH!"

"I AM YOUR FATHER AND THAT IS FINAL!"

"PROVE IT!" We were in each other's faces now, screaming. At my last command, I saw Voldemort grin slightly.

"Very well," he said calmly. "You have a birthmark. A rather unique one, at that," he said, looking pleased with himself.

"Yeah? What is it and where?" I crossed my arms.

"It is a heart on your stomach, a bit below your bellybutton."

I giggled.

"What?" he looked a bit cross.

"You said bellybutton." I couldn't help but giggle. I mean, an evil man such as himself, saying such a silly word. It was laughable. Voldemort gave me a flat look, and I stopped laughing. "Well it _was_ funny…" I glanced at Draco, who was staring at me. I wasn't sure if he was angry, amused, confused, or neutral. Darn that perfectly emotionless face of his!

"Onto business, you are to join my ranks."

"Hold up, Snakey McSnakerson, I'm going to do what now?"

"Join the Death Eaters." I couldn't help but snort.

"Listen, _Moldymort_, you may be the 'most powerful wizard of your time'," I used my fingers to make air quotes, "But what in hell makes you think you can control a teenage girl?"

I saw Lucius give a slight nod to the side, as if admitting that it would indeed be a challenge for his precious lord. Voldemort merely glared at me. I could tell that I definitely wasn't "Daddy's little princess." Oh no, I was the rebellious child. But hey, after what he'd put me through, he deserved to go through some annoyance.

"I assure you, I can make things very difficult for you."

"Go ahead, father dear." I spat the words out like they were poison. He obviously didn't appreciate my attitude.

"As your punishment, you are-"

"What, you're gonna torture me just like all of the other innocent people? Maybe kill me for my insolence? I'm not afraid of you!" I knew that my last words were a blatant lie, but I had heard things about this guy, and I wasn't going down without a fight. Besides, to quote Harvey Dent, you either die a hero or live long enough to see yourself in the sequel. Oh wait, that was a spoof on youtube…Live long enough to see yourself become the villain! That's the line! I must admit, I wasn't all that interested in Harvey's character, so I paid more attention to Christian Bale. I mean, can you blame me?

"You are grounded," Voldemort hissed.

"What now? Grounded?" I was confused. Had this guy gone soft or something? I mean, I was expecting something much more unpleasant for my insolence. But oh well, I'd take grounding! "But I have school."

"You are not permitted to leave the Hogwarts grounds," Voldemort stated. He pointed his wand to my right wrist and a flash of pain shot through my body. I looked down and a faint symbol was scarred into my skin.

"What the hell?" I screamed. I stared, shocked at what he had just done.

"That will allow me to track you and keep a proverbial eye on you."

"And if I leave the grounds?" I asked defiantly.

"You will answer to me, and I can assure you that you will not get off so easily. Now, while you are at Hogwarts, I have a job for you. You are to study your lessons and learn to duel."

"I'm not much into sword-fighting."

"Magic, Hermione, magic. Wizarding duels are an important part of your future."

"Last I checked, dueling wasn't a class."

"Draco shall instruct you."

"Oh, great, my _fiancé_? No thanks. I'd rather have a different teacher." I shot a glare in Draco's direction to find that he was still looking at me. Creeper. I mean, before, I sort of liked him. He was extremely attractive, granted he was self-centered, arrogant, and stuck up, but he was eye candy, and there's no rule against looking at someone. I would have never gotten into a relationship with him, though. He's not my type at all.

"You have no choice. And by Christmas break, you must convince everyone that the two of you have fallen in love."

"Oh really? And why's that?"

"Because you will be married over the break," Lucius cut in, smirking at Draco and me.

"I'm sorry, but last I checked, I was in charge of my life. Marriage is something that I've been looking forward to, and I'm not going to let it be ruined by a wannabe king and his puppy dog's blond ambition!" I was radiating anger now. I had to find some way out of this. I decided to try the nice approach. "Daddy," I turned to Voldemort, turning on the puppy eyes, "I don't want to get married to Draco. I want to choose who and when I get married. Ple-e-e-ease, Daddy?" I pouted.

"I-" Was it working? "No, you will do as I say."

Crap.

"Why do we have to convince people we like each other?" I demanded as he began to turn away.

"Because, Hermione, people will know when you are married, and no one would believe that a pureblood family would arrange a marriage with a muggle-born. But if you two were to 'fall in love,' it would be much more believable." I huffed, realizing that his explanation actually made sense. The whole arrangement was ludicrous, though. But before I could object anymore, a certain blond someone grabbed my arm and teleported us to the town outside of Hogwarts.

"You can teleport?" I was in awe.

"It's called apparating, it's magic." The awe was gone. Draco walked off toward the school and I followed. I could feel the mark on my wrist pulsing, though it didn't hurt. It just felt weird.

The moment we crossed through the gate, the pulsing stopped. I was glad of that, because I didn't want to have to focus on school and other things while dealing with a pulsing wrist. Draco was walking several paces in front of me, completely ignoring that I was there. I wanted to yell at him, hit him, maybe throw a rock or two at that blond head of his. But I fought the temptation.

"Why didn't you tell me about this?" I asked him. He didn't stop, didn't even turn or acknowledge that I was there. Normally I have great self-control, but something about this blond made me reach the limits. And now that he was being such a jerk, I lost it. I stooped to the ground, grabbed a rock, and threw it at him.

"What the hell was that?" he roared, wheeling around on me. I had still been walking, so I was very close when he turned around. I hadn't expected him to yell like that, and I lost my balance. I reached out and grabbed the front of his robes, and dragged him down with me. Only we had been walking up a hill, and however magical the school grounds were, gravity still existed. My back hit the ground and we began rolling, me still clutching his robes. We rolled all the way down the hill, landing on the shore of the lake.

"What is wrong with you?" he demanded, rubbing the back of his head where the rock had hit him. He was laying on top of me, and with my being considerably smaller than him at my height of 5'5", I couldn't breathe very easily. I gasped a few words and he realized he was crushing me. He stood and pulled me to my feet, and asked again, "What is wrong with you?" His voice was even more venomous.

"I just wanted to get your attention." I smoothed my robes, brushing off a few stray leaves and twigs.

"Well what do you want?" he crossed his arms.

"I want to know why you didn't tell me."

"I didn't know it was you." He took a step, turning to leave, but I wasn't done talking.

"Are you saying that you _knew_ that you were engaged to someone, and still kissed me?"

"I've done more than kiss," he began walking away.

"Great, I'm marrying a gigolo," I threw my hands in the air, turning toward the lakes.

"Hey, _they've_ all thrown themselves at _me_!"

"You're so arrogant!" He walked back to me.

"And you're so petty!"

"At least I'm not easy!"

"Right, you probably haven't even had your first kiss!"

"Like it's a bad thing to wait?" I yelled. He looked slightly shocked, like he'd been expecting me to defend myself, saying that I had in fact kissed someone. But no, I was still holding out for someone special. And now I had to marry someone like _him_.

"I'm done with this." He walked off, and for some reason that made me extremely mad. I looked around for something to throw, but couldn't find anything, so I grabbed my shoe. It hit him square in the shoulders, and he turned around, grabbed my beloved Birkenstock, and chucked it into the lake.

"You son of a bitch!" I screamed. I ran at him and tackled him. Luckily we weren't high up enough on the hill to go rolling down again, but we did roll side to side, wrestling. I'll admit that I was surprised that he fought back. I figured that since I was basically the daughter of his dad's boss, he'd just take it, but he didn't. He grabbed my hair and yanked my head away from him. I responded by scratching at him, leaving four red lines on his neck. I hadn't drawn blood, but the skin was definitely irritated. Draco rolled on top of me, pinning my arms above my head. I thanked god for my dance classes and the resulting flexibility by bringing my legs up, hooking my ankles around his neck, and pulling him off.

Draco fell into a backwards somersault and was coming at me again. I extended a foot and connected with his stomach. He grunted and clutched where I had hit him, but he wasn't going to give up yet. He came toward me again. I shoved myself off of the ground and grabbed him around the middle, throwing both of us back down the hill. I heard someone yell something in the distance, but ignored it. Draco and I were rolling around on the ground again, but I managed to get the upper hand. I was sitting on him, straddling his stomach, and had my hands wrapped around his neck. But the boy must've played sports or something, because he was strong enough to grab my sides and throw me over his head. I landed on the ground with a thud, knocking the wind out of me. But I was not done.

I rolled to my stomach, hopped to a crouching position, and was met by a solid force knocking me onto my back.

"Not bad, Granger, but not good enough." By now, a crowd had formed around us, and they were chanting "Fight!"

"What are they fighting about?" someone whispered.

"Who cares?" There were cheers, jeers, and even cat calls. I was losing, and I had to do something. So I performed a very underhanded low blow…

I kneed Draco in the groin.

He groaned and rolled off of me. I stood and looked around the group to see the guys wearing pained expressions, the girls wearing those of shock and awe, and a few girls that were glaring at me, probably angry that I might have damaged something dear to them.

"That'll show you to throw my shoe in the lake." I marched off, a bit unevenly thanks to my one bare foot, and returned to my dorm.

**3****rd**** Person POV**

Voldemort and Lucius had been watching the entire scene through a magic orb, and were left openmouthed at the end of the fight.

"She's persistent, I'll give her that."


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

It was the day after my fight with Draco, and I had become some sort of celebrity. Half the guys at the school praised me for my feat, while most of the girls glared at me and sent me nasty notes, claiming that I'd "maimed their future husband". I just laughed when that happened, because it was bound to occur sooner or later. Draco's antics just couldn't be encouraged.

I noticed that he'd been avoiding me, and I didn't care. No, I did care, because I was glad that I didn't have to deal with him. And Voldemort be damned! I wasn't going to just do his bidding and pretend to fall in love with some guy that I didn't like! Voldemort probably wouldn't appreciate that, but I was his daughter, so I probably had better standing than Draco. And Draco would have to do what Voldemort said. Meaning I had all the power in this situation, and Draco would eventually have to kiss up to me. I could have some fun with this. I grinned at that thought, sitting there in charms class, staring off into space. My train of thought was sent careening when the teacher, Professor Flitwick, asked me a question.

"Would you agree, Miss Granger?"

"Huh?" I looked around, realized he was talking to me, and saw Draco smirk. I hadn't even realized he was in my class. "Um…I guess I would agree, but the outcome really depends on the situation." A total shot in the dark, but I was hoping that my response was vague enough to convince him.

It was.

"Well answered, Miss Granger! You see class, even the simplest of charms, like the Magnet Charm! With a few words, you can bond things for however long you decide, at whatever closeness you would like. A lot of things can affect the strength of the charm, such as your focus, and who or what you are trying to bond. For example, I shall perform the charm on four students. Mr. Potter and Miss Weasley, you will be the first pair!" Flitwick waved his wand at Harry and Ginny and recited a few nonsense words. Nothing happened. "You see, class, the charm works like actual magnets!" Everyone looked confused, and the professor sighed. "Mr. Potter and Miss Weasley are very similar in personality. Ere go the charm will bind them, but not strongly. But if I were to bind two very different people…" he scanned the class, and then spoke to me, "Miss Granger, I do recall hearing about a squabble between you and one of your classmates." Without hesitation, or further explanation, he waved his wand at me, reciting the charm, and then pointed his wand at Draco, who was sitting a good fifteen feet away from me. As soon as his incantation was over, I felt myself being pulled by a strong force in my stomach. I went flying through the air and colliding with something solid, which turned out to be my least favorite blond.

"Ow!" We both stood, and found our chests pressed together. I began to blush furiously, glaring at Draco. "Step back, Malfoy!"

"I can't," he grunted, and I noticed that he was straining, trying to pull himself away from me.

Flitwick chirped, "You see? Miss Granger and Mr. Malfoy are so opposite, that the magnet charm pulls them together, and can actually hold power over their actions. It's a handy tool to use in a fight, and-"

The door burst open, and professor McGonagall was standing in the doorway, panting slightly.

"Professor Flitwick, I'm sorry to disturb your lesson, but we need your assistance. In the Great Hall, now." Without any more words, Flitwick hopped down from the podium he had been teaching from and ran off after professor McGonagall.

"Professor?" I yelled after him. No response. "Professor!" I looked back to Draco, mortified. He was still looking off in the direction that our teacher had run, but he turned to me slowly, his face contorting into a scowl.

"This is all your fault."

"_My_ fault?" I exclaimed.

"Yes, _your_ fault! If you hadn't started the fight yesterday, we wouldn't be in this mess!"

"If I remember correctly, you're the one who threw my shoe into the lake!"

"After you chucked it at my head!"

"Miserable prick!"

"Whiny twat!"

"Sodding wanker!"

Our fight was now the center of the class's attention, and there were several gasps, chuckles, and "ooh"s as we exchanged insults. Then he did it. He pulled out the father card.

"Your dad-" I knew where it was heading, so I cut him the only way I could think of. I shoved him. But, of course, we were still charmed, so I fell over on top of him. I landed with an undignified "Oof!" and the fight began.

Draco rolled over, intent on winning our newest round. I'll admit that it was a lot harder to fight when our chests were magically pulled toward each other, but neither of us were about to give in. I wrapped my finger around his throat and started shaking his head. He responded by grabbing a fistful of my hair and yanking my head back, baring my neck to him. I jabbed his side and he released me, groaning and clutching at what I hoped would bruise.

"You little-" I cut him off by rolling over, a result of trying to pull away from him. The charm was still in effect. Draco was now on top of me, and we were still glaring at each other. I shoved hard at his shoulders, which brought us to a sitting position, with him straddling me, sitting back on his calves. This had to be the most inconvenient- and most improbable- fight that had ever taken place at this school, because the other students were cheering and yelling, waving their arms wildly. I had grabbed Draco's throat again, and was once again strangling him, when the whole thing was broken up. Professors McGonagall, Flitwick, and even Snape, the sour potions teacher, were splitting up the crowd. Snape reached down, grabbed Draco and I by the collars, and dragged us to our feet. I was surprised at his strength, but stayed silent, waiting for a harsh reprimand. I was sure I was going to be expelled. This was my second fight in two consecutive days, and I hadn't even been here a week.

We arrived in Dumbledore's office, flanked by teachers, and still charmed together. It was rather embarrassing. Dumbledore regarded us silently for a few minutes, then stood.

"Miss Granger, I must admit that you surprise me. I spoke to your parents and they said that you've never acted like this before. And I believe them. You're a clever girl, surely you know that violence is not the answer to your problems." I looked at the floor.

"And Mr. Malfoy." The headmaster paused, studying the blond's face. "I have alerted your father as well, and he assures me that this is not your usual answer to your problems. Both of your parents have given me permission to discipline you in whatever way I see fit. Neither of you will be able to succeed outside of and after school if you don't learn to deal with people who you conflict with. So I have decided that you will remain charmed like this for one week, as long as you learn to get along. For every fight you two are in, the charm will extend one day."

"Do you mean verbal or physical?" Draco asked.

"I will leave that to your interpretation."

"But, headmaster, that's unethical. I mean, he's a boy. How are we supposed to sleep, eat…shower?" My cheeks had flushed slightly. I mean, there was no doubt that Draco was insanely attractive, even if his heart was black as sin. Dumbledore thought about my question for a moment. I saw a flash of a mischievous grin.

"I will leave that to you to figure out. The better you get along, the weaker the charm will become. You are dismissed."

I stared, mouth open, as he waved his hand for us to leave. Was he serious? There was no way Draco and I were going to get along! We left the office nonetheless, and arrived in the Great Hall for lunch. I started off toward the Gryffindor table, but Draco headed toward the Slytherin table.

"What are you doing?" I asked.

"I'm going to eat lunch. What are _you_ doing?"

"_I'm_ going to eat lunch. At my house table." I crossed my arms.

"This isn't going to work." Draco muttered, glancing at the two tables. "Well, I have more friends than you, so we'll sit at my table."

"Excuse me? Why do you get to choose? I want to eat at the Gryffindor table!"

"We can't fight, Granger, or the charm will add another day. One week is bad enough." Draco crossed his arms as well. We had managed to twist slightly so we were literally joined at the hip, but it wasn't comfortable for both of use to cross our arms. I elbowed him, trying to assert some dominance, but he elbowed back.

"Do I have to school you again?" I threatened.

"_You're_ the student," he glared down at me, tilting his chin up slightly. I glared back and lifted my chin. I began walking toward the Gryffindor table once more, but Draco wouldn't have it. He, being the stronger of us, walked to the Slytherin table, dragging me with him. I kicked and flailed, trying to stop him and move toward my friends, but my feet were barely touching the ground thanks to the height difference and his strength. He sat down on one of the benches, next to some girl with dark hair.

"Draco, what is she doing here?"

"Relax, Pansy, it's just a punishment." He spooned some chips onto his plate.

"I'm being punished the most, here," I muttered, crossing my arms, and leaning away from him. He shot a glare at me, but I decided to ignore him. A week stuck to his side was bad enough, I didn't need any more than that.

That night, we faced our biggest problem yet.

Sleeping.

"Who's dorm are we going to sleep in?" We were standing on a landing, halfway between the dungeons and Gryffindor tower. We were both thinking hard, trying to come up with a convincing argument as to why we should sleep in our own beds (at least that's what I assumed he was thinking about).

"Well," I began, "we sat at _your_ table for lunch, so we'll sleep in _my_ bed."

"Fine," he grunted. We walked to the portrait of the Fat Lady, and I was about to say the password, when I realized that he couldn't find out what it was. I leaned close and whispered it, and the picture swung open. We walked into the Gryffindor common room, and were greeted by stares and whispers.

"Um…hey, guys. How's everything going?" I asked, trying to be casual. I didn't get any responses, but a few of the people looked away. Taking the cue, I dragged Draco up to my room. Surprisingly, the charm that was supposed to keep boys out of the girl's dormitory wasn't working on Draco, for which I was glad, because if it had been effective, we wouldn't have made it up the stairs. But we did find something surprising. My things weren't in my room, and my bed was gone as well. I dragged Draco up to the top of the tower and found a whole new room, with our names on it.

"I'm guessing they don't want the other Gryffindor girls bugging us," I muttered, slightly worried about this new development. Why would they give us a room to ourselves? I opened the door and we went inside. Another surprise: the room was decorated half in Gryffindor colors, half in Slytherin.

"Not bad," Draco commented, looking at the Slytherin half. I looked at my watch and saw that it was almost time for bed.

"Well…I need to change for bed."

"What? It's only nine o'clock."

"I go to bed a bit early. Sleep is very important for teenagers." Draco looked at me like I was nuts. I ignored him and walked over to my trunk. I bent down to open it, but couldn't reach. The stupid charm kept me a few inches away from the latch. I huffed and stood up. "Help me out a bit here?" Draco rolled his eyes and bent down with me. I opened my trunk and grabbed my pajamas. I was now regretting the decision to pack only my nighties. But I had been rushed while I was packing, and almost all of my other pajamas were dirty. Plus, nighties took up less space, so it was really the practical thing to do. I did my best to keep the nighty out of Draco's sight, but realized that we had a complication.

Changing.

"Do you think you could turn around?" I asked.

"I can try," he grumbled, obviously inconvenienced at my early bedtime. We struggled, but managed to twist so that our backsides were now the source of the charm. Needless to say, uncomfortable. I slipped my shoes and socks off first, which were followed by my shirt, tie and skirt. I unclasped my bra and felt Draco tense. I could feel the muscles in his back and shoulders, and feeling them tense up, and knowing that I had caused it, sent shivers up my spine. I'm not sure why, probably just one of those involuntary things. I slipped the nighty over my head and pulled it down to cover as much of my body as it could.

"Do you need to change now?" I asked. Draco didn't respond, but I could feel him start to undress. I realized why he had tensed up. I could feel the fabric of his robe slide across my bare shoulders, which was followed by his shirt. Then our skin touched. "Could you give me some space?" I spat, not liking the rush I felt at the contact.

"Well, let's see…No! Thanks to you, we're in this situation, so you have no right to complain!"

"Oh don't you dare start this again!"

"Well it _is_ all your fault."

"You're really the one who started it! First you pursue me, then you don't like me, then you dance with me and kiss me, then you go back to hating me. Your mood swings are giving me whiplash!" Okay, so the last line was stolen from a movie I'd seen recently, but he wouldn't know that.

"If you say one more word," I could feel him now taking off the pants, "I swear to Merlin you won't get a bit of sleep."

"If that's how you want to play, I'll keep you up all night!" I accented the last part with a backwards kick to his leg. Suddenly the charm twirled us around, so we were chest to chest, and it was even stronger.

"Great, you've just extended the charm, idiot!" he yelled at me.

"You started it!"

"No I didn't!"

I realized that this argument wouldn't end well. "Let's just go to bed." Draco grunted his agreement, and we shuffled sideways toward the bed. We probably looked like some mutant crab or something.

Once at the bed, we faced a new challenge. Getting in. We circled around each other a bit, offering the occasional "no, what about," and "how 'bout let's try…" After five minutes of trying to gracefully climb in, I tripped on Draco's foot and dragged him into the bed. We landed in a heap, him on top, glaring at me.

"Sorry," I muttered. But I really was sorry. And I think that was the trick. The charm loosened a bit and we were able to twist into a more maneuverable position.

We climbed under the covers, and I was out like a light.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

I slept surprisingly well that night. But I woke up in an awkward position. Because of my apology the previous night, the charm had eased up slightly, allowing us to move a bit in our sleep. We were still touching the whole night, but we could at least turn over. But when I woke up, I found myself chest to chest with Draco, wrapped securely in his arms. Even our legs were entwined. I tried to maneuver myself out of his grip, to see if the charm had possibly weakened over night, but I couldn't get out of his hold.

"Draco?" I nudged his arm. Nothing. "Draco?" I was louder, and I shoved his shoulder a few times. Still no response. "Draco!" I yelled this time, smacking him in the face. This elicited a reaction.

Draco, his arms still around me, rolled over, away from me. He would've dumped me off of the bed, had we not been charmed together. Instead, we both tumbled to the floor, dragging the blankets and sheets with us.

"Great," I mumbled, "I just went for a tumble in the sheets with Draco Malfoy."

"You could definitely improve."

"Hey! You weren't that great, either!" I smacked his chest. I'm sure he also felt the charm pull us closer. I grunted and we both struggled to our feet. "Alright, turn around so I can get dressed," I grabbed some clothes from the top of my trunk. Draco strained at the charm, then stopped.

"I can't turn."

"What? You can't be serious!"

"Does it look like I'm kidding?"

"I…" I had no idea what to do. This sort of thing just never happened to me. Hell, it didn't happen to _anyone_! "It's bad enough that I can't shower, but now I have to change like _this_?" I grunted and glared up at the Slytherin. "You better keep those eyes shut."

Draco rolled his eyes and closed them. After a short moment to make sure that he wasn't looking, I pulled my nighty off and slipped into my skirt. The shirt followed, and the tie, socks and robe were soon after. I would have to wait for Draco to sit down so I could put on my shoes, so I tapped him on the shoulder.

"You can change now." I squeezed my eyes shut so as to avoid looking at him while he changed.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm not looking at you."

"I don't care if you look at me. You wouldn't be the first girl to see me unclothed." There was a tone in his voice that just screamed "I'M A STUD! (And I know it!)"

I crossed my arms, "I'd like to preserve my purity, thank you." I heard Draco snort, and felt him moving as he changed into his uniform.

Soon, we had our shoes on, had grabbed our schoolbags, and were heading down to the Great Hall. But something was wrong. Everyone was gathered in the Great Hall as Dumbledore stood at the podium, addressing the students.

"There has been an attack at Diagon Alley." Whispers ran through the crowd. "The ministry is unsure of who was behind it, and has requested that all students be returned home."

"Why? Aren't we safe here?" A first-year piped up.

"You are indeed, but the minister of magic would like families to be together in this time of need."

"How bad was the attack?"

"I am not at liberty to discuss the details, that is why you are being returned to your families."

"This can't be good," I muttered. The student body was now chattering, quickly and loudly, trying to ask all of their questions at once.

"Silence!" The room fell deathly silent. "Please, do not ask questions that I cannot answer. Please gather your things and head to the train station. Your parents have been alerted, and will be waiting for you. Most of the students practically sprinted out of the Great Hall, while some dragged their feet. I was guessing that those who were lagging behind were scared that they wouldn't have a home to return to.

"If there's been an attack, wouldn't the safest place for us be here?" I asked Draco.

"It depends."

"On what?"

"On who led the attack and what they're target is." His face was solemn, which matched his low voice. I was instantly glad that my parents had taken a trip to the States, but realized that no one would be there to get me from the station.

"Headmaster?" I called, dragging Draco to the front of the Great Hall.

"Yes, Miss Granger?"

"Could you end the charm? Considering the situation?"

"Yes, of course. Go pack your things. Don't be late for the train."

Draco and I left the Great Hall and returned to our dorm. We threw our things into our trunks and made sure we didn't forget anything.

On the train, I sat with Harry and Ron.

"So.." I began.

"So, um, Hermione…Do you like the school?" Ron asked.

"Well, yeah, it was nice. While it lasted."

Silence.

"So where are you two off to?" I asked.

"Back home, to the Burrow."

"Burrow?"

"Yeah. Harry will be staying with me. He lives with muggles, and they wouldn't understand what's going on."

"Why do you call your house the Burrow?"

"…I'm not sure."

"So where will you be going?"

"Um…I'm not exactly sure." My brow furrowed. Would my parents be at the train station? My thought was interrupted when the door to our cabin was roughly slid open to reveal an annoyed Draco.

"We're almost to the station."

"'Kay, thanks." I looked back out the window, but I could sense that he hadn't left. I turned back, "Can I help you?"

"McGonagall told me I'm to escort you, since you're new to school and you'll be staying with me."

"She'll what?" Ron practically screamed, standing up.

"She's staying with me, Weasel. You got a problem with that?" Draco turned to face Ron fully.

"Yeah, I do."

"Well you can take that up with her dad." Draco's voice had lowered, and I realized that he meant the snake-dad.

"It's alright, Ron. I'll see you guys when we get back to school, yeah? Do you have email?" Ron looked at me like I was spewing jibberish.

"It's a muggle thing, Ron," Harry explained. "How bout we owl you? Then you'll be able to owl us back?"

"Yeah, sure. That'd be great. I'll um…I'll see you." I followed Draco out of the cabin and down the hallway. "Great way to handle that, Babble-Bug!" I growled.

"What the hell is a Babble-Bug?"

"It's a someone like you that can't keep their mouth shut!" Draco rolled his eyes.

I spent the rest of the train ride- approximately twenty minutes- in Draco's cabin. Needless to say, his friends and I did not get along well at all. Pansy, a dark-haired girl who spent the entire time draped over Draco, kept sending me nasty looks and making snide comments about my hair, my clothes, my face, my intelligence. All in covert insults, of course. Then there was Crabbe and Goyle, who spent most of the time sleeping. And then there was Blaise. I was sitting across from him, and he wouldn't stop looking at me. I'll admit that he was attractive. He had dark hair, olive skin, and smoldering eyes. Eyes that kept giving me 'the look'. I did my best to ignore him, but it was either look at that or look at Pansy trying to get it on with Draco right next to me.

The train finally stopped, and Draco and I collected our luggage. We lumbered onto the platform, loaded with trunks and other miscellaneous bags. I saw Draco's father waiting for us, nose stuck in the air, cold eyes glaring at everyone.

"Father," Draco nodded. He received a curt nod in response, and we were led out of the station.


	11. Chapter 11

AN: So….I realize that it's been over two years since I updated this story. And for that, I apologize. I got swamped with school, work, family stuff, and this story ended up in the deepest, darkest corners of my mind. But I've recently gotten a lot of requests to continue the story, so I've decided to brush off the cobwebs and give it a go! I really hope you all enjoy it 3

Chapter 11

There is only one way for me to accurately describe Malfoy Manor. WTF? It was positively the largest estate I'd ever seen, and had elegant- if not pompous- décor. I was shown to the room I would be staying in and was given a half hour to unpack. I found that there were already a few dresses in the large, dark wood armoire in the corner of my room. I felt so out of place. My room at my house was blue with green and purple, and rather modern in design. The room I now found myself in was large for my taste, with dark wood and rich burgundy. The floor was wood, with a large Persian rug covering most of it. There was an ornately carved wooden door which led to my own bathroom. It had marble flooring, marble counters, a marble sink, and the largest marble tub that I'd ever seen. I could probably use it as a swimming pool if I was so inclined. Standing in the middle of the bathroom, I was lost in thoughts of how a person could possibly afford all of this.

"Like your room?" Draco's voice came from behind me. I turned to see him leaning against the doorframe, his arms crossed over his chest. He was smirking.

"It's not quite to my taste, but I am in awe. I can't believe someone can afford a place like this."

"The manor's been in the Malfoy family for hundreds of years. Most of this furniture's been here since well before my father was even born," he shrugged, taking a few steps forward.

"I see. So, is there a reason you're here?" I tried not to sound rude, but I wasn't expecting him.

"Your father's here. He's waiting in the study. I suggest you hurry." Draco led me out of my room and to the study.

I saw Voldemort sitting in a lounge chair, sipping a glass of what I guessed was brandy. He set his glass on an end table as I entered and nodded at Draco. Draco, in response, dipped his head and backed out of the room, closing the door.

"So what do you want?" I asked, crossing my arms.

"Is that any way to speak to your father?"

"I'm a teenager." Voldemort frowned. He stood with a swoosh of his cloak and took three sweeping steps toward the fireplace.

"I was not expecting Hogwarts to close. It puts a kink in my plans, to say the least."

"What plans?" I tilted my head, narrowing my eyes.

He turned, a villainous glint in his eyes. "Do you remember the mirror you saw in your dream?"

"Yeah. What of it?"

"The mirror was created by a powerful wizard. It is the Mirror of Erised. It shows you your heart's desire."

"So why do you want it?"

"The mirror has special powers. Exactly what kind I cannot tell you, but I need it to complete my plan. It will be your and Draco's job to find the mirror."

"It's at Hogwarts?"

"Yes. You are to find the mirror and alert me once you do. I will find a way to transport the mirror back here."

"And if I refuse?" I lifted my chin, narrowing my eyes at the snake man before me.

Voldemort's face flashed to a murderous expression "You may be my daughter, but blood can only protect you from so much. If I were you, I would be more cooperative," he hissed. I recoiled at his hostility, and he took notice. "You will go to the dining room now. The Malfoys are waiting." I huffed, but left the room. I turned down the hall and found my way to the dining room.

I saw Draco's father sitting, not at the head of the table, but to the right. Draco sat across the table from the woman at his father's left. Judging by her pale blond hair and haughty expression, I guessed that she was Draco's mother. I took a vacant place a few seats down from Draco, trying to distance myself from the Malfoys. But as Voldemort entered and sat at the head of the table, he snapped at me. I was puzzled by the gesture, but realized his intent when he pointed to the seat on his left, next to Draco. I stood and walked to my new seat, sliding into the chair cautiously. Food materialized before us and I stared at it. There was steak, chicken, green peas, mashed potatoes, pasta, and sauces for all of it. I waited until the others began filling their plates before selecting my food.

Lucius and Voldemort fell into discussion about something, but I wasn't paying attention. I was busying myself by pushing food around on my plate, occasionally taking a small bite. I had moved from rearranging my peas to my potatoes when I noticed that the conversation had died. I looked up to see everyone staring at me.

"Well, Hermione? What do you think?" Voldemort's fingers were steepled, his elbows resting on the table.

"Uh…The limit does not exist?" I tried. I received confused looks from the three blonds and the one bald.

"He wants to know your opinion of the arranged marriage," Draco hissed at me from the corner of his mouth.

"Oh." I turned to face Voldemort and squared my shoulders. "I think it's a bloody stupid idea! How the hell do you get off choosing other people's futures? There's not freaking way I could ever be happy with a prat like Draco! I could never be happy with someone so self-centered, narcissistic, and arrogant!"

Narcissa looked furious, Lucius looked shocked, Draco rolled his eyes, and Voldemort was smirking.

"What the bloody hell are you smirking at?" I practically roared, slamming my hands on the table and standing up so forcefully that my chair toppled over behind me.

"You and I are so alike."

I was now in my room, laying on my bed, fuming over the dinner I had just suffered through. How dare that snakey freak compare himself to me? My eyes were narrowed, glaring at the ceiling, and my arms were crossed tightly across my chest. I heard my bedroom door open and I shot off of my bed, whipping around to see the intruder.

Draco Malfoy.

"What do you want?" I spat.

"My parents are making me visit you," he whined.

"Oh, poor baby," I rolled my eyes. I climbed back onto my bed and grabbed a book off of the nightstand, purposefully ignoring the tall, muscular, attractive- I mean whiny, narcissistic, selfish blond. But that didn't seem to deter him, as he strode over and flopped down onto my bed, stretching out at my feet like some overgrown ferret. I rolled my eyes and snapped my book shut.

"Can I help you?"

"No, I'm fine for now," he sighed lazily.

"What do you want, Draco?" I sat up and crossed my arms. He glanced over and rolled onto his side, facing me in what most would call a sexy pose. And while I'll admit that yes, he was extremely attractive, on him I just found it obnoxious.

"You do realize that we're going to be married, right?"

"Not if I can help it," I scoffed. Draco pushed himself up on one arm and leaned in toward me, his body gliding smoothly over the fluffy blanket as his face came within inches of mine. I backed up as far as I could, but with my spine straight against the mahogany headboard, I was now trapped- my arms rendered near useless at my sides, pinned by Draco's arms.

"Would being married to me really be so bad?" he purred, tilting his head and sliding it next to my ear.

"Y-…Yea-…" I struggled to make sense of what I was thinking and trying to say as Draco nuzzled just under my jaw line and grazed it with his lips.

"Honestly?" he was now straddling me, his left arm slipped behind me and wrapped around my waist, guiding me closer to him. My arms, which had been limp noodles until now, took on a life of their own and wrapped around Draco's slim waist, fingers splaying across his toned back.

"I uh…I…"

"Mmm, you're cute when you aren't making snarky comments." I could feel his smirk against my neck, and it broke the spell. I slid my hands from his back to his chest and pushed hard. He hadn't been expecting it, so he flew back to the end of the bed, nearly rolling backward onto the floor.

"What the hell?" he demanded.

"You may be…experienced," I spat, "But I'm not falling for this crap. Did you honestly think you were going to seduce me?"

"Well is _was_ working," he threw his arms to the side, eyes open wide as he tried to process that he had just been rejected.

"This may be news to you," I climbed to my knees, kneeling to make me look more imposing, "But you aren't irresistible. You're a bleach blonde, twiggy little ferret! And trust me, that is _not_ sexy."

"Oh so what _is_ sexy?" he mimicked my pose, which put him a couple inches higher than me, but I wasn't going to back down.

"Sexy is dark hair and blue eyes, an athletic build, and passion for making the other person happy!" I yelled in his face.

"Oh well if you already know what it is then why aren't you with him?"

"Because I was dragged into a mess of evil mystery dads and arranged marriages!"

Draco pulled back a bit, blinking. I wish I could've read his mind, because his face was completely blank. He leaned back, sitting on his heels, his arms falling limp beside him.

"What are you doing?" I demanded.

"I visited you like my parents wanted. I'm going to go out and do something enjoyable," he muttered, his eyes taking on an icy sheen. I sat back on my heels as Draco climbed off of the bed and walked toward the door. His usual strut was absent, replaced by normal steps. Had I hurt his feelings or something? I'd never imagined that anything I could say would ever get to him…

Draco opened the door and left, and I sat on my bed staring at the floor where he had just been standing. Why were guys so weird? And this one was especially strange. He was impossible to read, and if he didn't spell out what he was thinking you would never guess.

That night, I lay in bed staring at the ceiling. It was almost 2 am and I was still wide awake. My head was swarming with thoughts of my parents, my old life, the snake man who claimed to be my real father, the mysterious mirror, and the infuriating blonde. Another hour passed in quiet thought before I finally drifted off to sleep, only to be woken a few hours later…..


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

I was woken by someone blocking the light from my window, after which I felt someone sit next to me. My eyes cracked open, my vision blurry with sleep, to see blonde hair and pale skin.

"Draco?" I muttered distastefully.

"No." It was his mother's voice. "It's Narcissa. I've just come to check on you. You and Draco have a lunch date today, so we need to get you ready."

"I don't wanna," I rolled onto my stomach, burying my face in my pillow and pulling the blanket over my head.

"You have to," she pulled the blanket away from me. "Now up!" her voice was far too cheery for such a sleepy morning. "I've purchased a lovely sun dress just for this date."

"No offense, Misses Malfoy," I rolled onto my side to look at her, "But I don't want to go anywhere with your son. Much less pretend to like him. Or marry him."

Her expression flickered darker, "Hermione. I don't want this to be an unpleasant experience for anyone. But I've been told to get you ready for your date, and that's exactly what I intend to do." She pulled out her wand, muttered a spell, and I floated out of the bed. I began flailing about, trying to get back onto something solid, but to no avail.

"Put me down!" I shrieked as she pointed me toward the armoire in the corner. I was now floating just a few inches above the floor. She walked over to me and opened the armoire doors, pulling out a dress. It was coral with pearls and silvery thread embroidery which swirled over the dress's bodice in a lovely floral design. The dress was empire waisted with thin straps and a full, flowing skirt that came just above my knee.

"Now tell me you don't want to wear this," Narcissa smirked. It must be a family trait, because it looked just like Draco's.

"Well….If I have to," I averted my eyes. I must've looked like such a child. But honestly, I loved the dress. It was a lot prettier than anything I normally wore. Narcissa released the spell and I landed gently on the floor. She handed the dress to me and I went into the bathroom to change.

The dress itself was silk, with lots of breezy layers. It was so comfortable, I never wanted to take it off. I came out of the bathroom and looked expectantly at Narcissa, spinning slowly so she could see the entire thing.

"See? You look lovely." I smiled. She kind of reminded me of my mother in a way. She was soft-spoken, but I could definitely tell that her seemingly demure manner shielded a fiery personality.

"Misses Malfoy-"

"Call me Narcissa, dear."

"Narcissa…How did you and Lucius end up together?"

She smiled dreamily, like she was replaying it in her head, "We met when we were just children. Pure blood families tend to be very close. My older sisters and I had been invited to spend the summer with the Malfoys. I was ten, almost eleven, and waiting for my Hogwarts acceptance owl. While we were with the Malfoys, I met Lucius and we got along famously. I was quite a troublemaker in my youth, I'll tell you that, and we were ornery little children. We'd tease the house elves and play pranks on house guests. He was only a year older than me, so that Fall when I went to Hogwarts and was sorted into Slytherin, we were able to spend a lot of time together.

It wasn't until I was a fifth year that I learned our parents had arranged for us to be married after school. But Lucius and I were thrilled. It was like marrying my best friend. I couldn't be happier with anyone else," she beamed at me.

"Wow," I breathed. A real life love story. My parents had met in college, and while I'm sure they loved each other, they definitely had their problems. I couldn't imagine what it would be like to marry my best friend. Then again, that's because my best friend was a French girl named Cassielle and I hadn't seen her since St. Magnifique had burned down.

"I'll tell you a secret," Narcissa clasped her hands in front of her. "Sometimes love can come from the most unexpected places." She walked toward the door.

All of a sudden a shriek erupted from down the hall, followed by clattering. Narcissa tore out the door and toward the noise, and I was right on her heels. We arrived at the entry way, just at the top of the stairs. Below us, a black-haired boy was scolding a house elf.

"Who on earth are-" Narcissa trailed off when the boy looked up. Standing below was none other than Draco Malfoy. With black hair.

"Draco what on earth have you done?" Narcissa shrieked, running down the winding staircase and rushing to his side, taking his face in her hands and staring at his hair.

"I had an accident with a potion," he waved his mother's hand away, backing up a step.

"What potion?"

"A hair treatment. To keep it soft. Something went wrong," he muttered. I was still at the top of the stairs, staring down. Draco was now dark-haired. It seemed like the world could end any second.

"But you're blonde," I muttered.

"Naturally, yes, but not right now," he growled. But something seemed amiss. If it had just been a softening treatment gone wrong, why were his eyebrows also black? Maybe he had changed them to match his hair. It would have looked terrible if he didn't. But still, something about this seemed off.

"What treatment did you do? Whoever made it, I'll have them put out of business!" Narcissa was obviously distraught over her son's loss of blonde locks.

"It's not that bad…He kind of looks good with dark hair," I shrugged, trying to console her.

"But Malfoys don't have black hair! Oh what will your father say?" She covered her mouth, her voice a whimper.

"What will I say about-" Lucius had just walked in, and was cut off by the shock of seeing his only son with black hair. "Draco, what on earth have you done?" he demanded.

"It was an accident, alright?"

"You have to get it fixed immediately," Narcissa insisted.

"I can't. I just went to our stylist, she said that I have to wait a few weeks. Otherwise my hair could be irreparably damaged."

"Good lord," Lucius huffed. He left the room, turning on his heel, and Narcissa chased after him.

Draco glanced up at me, "What are you wearing?"

"It's for our lunch date. Your mother made me wear it," I shifted my weight a bit before walking down the stairs to stand in front of Draco. "You know…It really doesn't look that bad," I shrugged.

Draco rolled his eyes, "Well you think just about anything looks good." He turned and walked away, through a doorway opposite where his parents had exited. I didn't want to stand in the entry way like an idiot, so I followed Draco. To be honest, he looked quite good with dark hair. It was a stark contrast with his alabaster skin and icy blue eyes. Draco wandered through the halls until he reached his room. He must not have realized I was following him, because he simply walked inside and pushed the door behind him to close it, although I caught it and slipped through. He flopped onto his bed, sighing.

"So-"

"Merlin!" Draco jumped, sitting up on his bed and bracing his back against the headboard.

"So what treatment did you use?" I finished.

"Why do you care?" He eyed me warily.

"Well I want to make sure I don't use it, too," I shrugged. "I'd look absolutely awful with black hair."

"It was…some….some softening treatment," he shrugged, averting his eyes.

"Did it have a name?"

"Why are you in my room?"

"Well I don't have anywhere else to be."

"You could go to your room. Or the living room. Or the garden. Or the kitchen. Isn't that a place you frequent?"

"You jerk!" I shrieked. "Are you calling me fat?"

"If the trousers don't fit," he sneered.

"I am not fat!"

"Whatever makes you sleep at night," he smirked.

"God you are so infuriating!"

"Then why'd you follow me to my room? Huh?" Suddenly he stood and in a fraction of a second he was right in front of me, backing me into his dresser. "Unless you wanted to be alone with me?"

"Don't flatter yourself, Malfoy!" I scoffed, squaring my shoulders. "I was just bored and figured you'd be better entertainment than my bedroom ceiling."

"So you'd rather lie on your bed with me above you?" he smirked, closing the gap between our bodies and wrapping his arms around my waist.

"Hardly," I breathed. I had tried to say it with more force, but he was so close…I could smell his expensive cologne and feel his breath on my skin.

"You don't sound so sure." Did his smirk ever leave his face? My stomach began to flip. Was I…Was I falling for Draco? I couldn't be! He was such a pompous jerk, there was no way I would actually like him. Although he was extremely attractive…The flips were soon joined by butterflies, and my stomach lurched. I shoved Draco away and ran into his bathroom, to his toilet, and threw up. At least I knew it was sickness, not love.

"That is disgusting." Draco was still in his bedroom, at least fifteen feet from where I was.

"You still think I like you?" I snapped. I stood and tugged my dress back into its rightful position, and walked to Draco's marble sink to rinse my mouth. It was then that I saw something peculiar…

"What's this?" I leaned on the bathroom door frame, holding a box bearing the label Harriet's Magical Hair Color. Draco's eyes widened and he leapt toward me, snatching the box and hiding it behind his back.

"It's nothing."

"Well it looks like hair dye," I crossed my arms. "Why did you dye your hair? You had to know it would drive your parents crazy."

"Well maybe that's precisely why I did it."

"But did you have to lie?" I shifted my weight to my right leg. "Oh, mummy, I tried to make my hair all soft and silky, and it turned black! Oh no mummy! I can't change it back for at least a week otherwise something terribly awful will happen!" I mocked Draco, obviously in a voice that he didn't have. I had never been good at impersonations, so years ago I had just begun to imitate every male in the exact same dumb voice.

"I don't even sound like that!" Draco hissed, pushing past me and throwing the box into a wastebasket before pointing his wand and muttering 'incendio'. The box erupted in flames and was soon gone.

"What do you think would happen if I told your parents?" I taunted.

"You wouldn't dare," Draco whipped his head around to glare at me. "They'd never believe you anyway."

"Are you so sure?" Draco's face softened a bit as he thought. Was I finally learning to read him?

"Tell you what," he said, "I'll make you a deal. You keep this a secret, and I'll buy you anything you want."

"Anything?"

"Anything."

"I want a unicorn."

"What?"

"You heard me. I want. A unicorn."

"Why?"

"You don't need to know why, you just need to get it for me."

"Do you realize how impossible that is? Not only are unicorns illegal to purchase, but they're also very difficult to take care of. They don't eat normal horse food. And they aren't like muggle horses at all."

"Are you saying you can't do it?"

"If I could, I would. But it's illegal to sell or purchase a unicorn. Do you have a second choice?"

I thought for a moment, "How about a dragon?"

"Okay now you're just trying to be obnoxious."

"Well what's the point of having magic and magical beasts if you can't own one?"

"There are magical creatures that you can own," Draco defended, crossing his arms and shifting his weight.

"Mermaids?"

"Trust me, you don't want one. They aren't the pretty little things depicted in muggle fairytales," he shuddered.

"Well then what _can_ I have?"

"Well we have dogs. Except they have forked tails. But you're required to crop the tails, so they really just look like terriers. Oh, I could buy you a…no…How bout…no…" Draco's brow furrowed in thought. "What if I just surprise you?"

I stalked toward him, squaring my shoulders and tilting my chin up, "It had better be a good surprise."

I left Draco's room and wandered down to one of the libraries. I had always loved books. I swished my skirt around as I scanned the book titles. They were rather peculiar, obviously books by, about, and for wizards. There were a few large, ancient books in a glass case, but it was locked. I wandered over to the large windows overlooking the garden and watched a group of albino peacocks roam the stone paths. They were funny birds, very entertaining to watch. Every now and then they would fan their tails out and try to outdo each other, only to ruffle each other's feathers and then return to bobbing through the low bushes. I sat on the window seat and stared out at the sky. I wondered what kind of surprise Draco would buy me, and whether or not it would actually be an animal or just some dress or jewelry. I really did want a pet. My parents were terribly allergic so I was never allowed to have anything more than a goldfish, and they always died within a few weeks.

I was sitting on the window sill when he walked in…


End file.
